


Left Unsaid

by HotCat37



Series: Band-Aids Won't Heal Me [2]
Category: Inazuma Eleven GO
Genre: Hugs, Hurt/Comfort, I write way too fast sometimes sjsj, M/M, Post-Hakuren match, Self-Worth Issues, Unresolved Emotional Tension, kind of sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2020-08-14
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:28:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25902835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HotCat37/pseuds/HotCat37
Summary: But then, as if Kurumada's turned into that one Pokémon (Lucario?) that can read auras, he senses a different kind of energy from beside him.Not a happy sort.
Relationships: (Implied) Kurumada Gouichi/Sangoku Taichi
Series: Band-Aids Won't Heal Me [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1878190
Kudos: 7





	Left Unsaid

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly when am I not thinking about Sangoku Taichi's self-worth issues? That's what I get for hyper-fixating on a character that keeps getting knocked over by the plot :') I'd like to say that the Kurumada/Sangoku is only implied, and that all of this could also be interpreted as platonic. Whichever you like

The match against Hakuren was tough, to say the least. But they manage to pull through at the end. Thanks to Tenma's Avatar, the total score ends up being 3-2.

Needless to say the entire Raimon team is in high spirits, even when they're back in the locker room.

"And then Captain was like _woosh_ and flung the goalkeeper all the way back!" Tenma is loud and cheerful, talking to Shinsuke like he's talking to the entire group.

"Yeah, yeah, we were all there." Kuruma mutters rather grumpily.

"Oh? Jealous?" Kariya innocently bats his eyelashes at the second-year, trying to appear clueless as Kuruma glares daggers at him.

"No way! I'm not saying it wasn't a good shoot, I'm just saying Tenma here doesn't have to recap the entire match......." Kuruma puffs out an irritated sigh.

"Oh, oh! It was SO amazing when you brought out your Avatar and kicked the ball back! You were like _KABOOM!"_ Shinsuke energetically adds, jumping up and down the bench.

"Your defense wasn't too shallow either!" Tenma gives him a high-five that echoes through the room.

Kurumada contently grins at the excited chattering. Locker room banter always gets him pumped to play even more soccer. He looks around, taking in all the satisfied and happy faces of his teammates. Everybody's happy and proud.

But then, as if Kurumada's turned into that one Pokémon (Lucario?) that can read auras, he senses a different kind of energy from beside him.

Not a happy sort.

The defender glances side-ways, where Sangoku is shrugging off the goalkeeper sweater. His body is hunched forwards a bit, like he's trying to appear smaller than he actually is. Kurumada traces his eyes over Sam's exposed shoulders. The right one is starting to look greenish and a bit purple, a huge bruise from where that motherfucker Seki slammed him into the goalpost.

Fuck. Kurumada can feel his muscles tensing with rage when he thinks about it. If it weren't for the fact that red cards exist, he would've gone over to the aggressive bastard and beat the living _hell_ out of him for hurting his best friend. 

Kurumada is taken off guard when Sangoku peels his tank top off, revealing his back littered with way, _way_ more bruises. They're purple and blue, spread out across his skin like constellations, as gay as that sounds. Some look fresh, others fading.

Kurumada would be lying if he said Sangoku's back wasn't totally hot, especially bruised up and muscular as it is (no homo though) but there's something off about it.

Sangoku isn't wearing them with pride like he always does with injuries and bruises. Kurumada can tell by his body language. He isn't very smart, but it doesn't take a genius to figure out that something's wrong when Sam is hunched over quietly, not joining in on the others' bantering.

Kurumada wonders if it's because he had to sit out on the bench. But why would he be upset about that? Sam was too injured to continue playing, after all. Then again, he _has_ noticed before that Sangoku tends to get a little weird whenever he's been benched.

Not that it happens _often,_ mostly because they don't have any spare goalkeepers, but still. Sangoku's never complained about it before, which is why Kurumada finds it concerning that the other teen looks so drawn-in on himself. 

"What's up with Sammy?" Amagi whispers to him on the bus. Sangoku doesn't hear them, earbuds in and looking out the window with a blank stare.

"Don't know. He seems sad......" Kurumada mutters in response.

"Could you talk to 'im? I'd do it myself but my cousin's coming home tonight so I gotta catch an early train." Amagi suggests, sending the brunette in the seat in front of him a concerned look.

"Leave it to me!" Kurumada's now determined to find the root of Sam's problem. 

_"You're the only goalkeeper for Raimon."  
_

Coach Endou's words spook through his head as he gets off the bus. 

_"Don't push yourself too hard to protect the goal at this point."_

If he doesn't push himself, he'll end up being benched every match. It won't be long before Coach Endou finds better goalkeepers. This is the second time Tenma has had to replace him. And just like before, he's done a way better job at blocking the shoots.

Sangoku can't let that happen again. He made a promise to protect Raimon's goal. What use does he have if he can't even-

"Oi. Wanna walk home together?"

Sangoku's intrusive thoughts get interrupted by Kurumada, who's peering up at him with a raised eyebrow.

The taller boy smiles down at him, giving a curt nod.

"Sure."

They take the road by the riverbank, because it's closer to Sangoku's apartment and less crowded than the shopping area that eventually leads to Kurumada's house. The defender doesn't seem to mind walking the extra mile, but he does repeatedly glance up at Sam and back down again whenever he looks back. Eventually Kurumada seems to settle for breaking the silence with a rather hesitant question.

"You, uh.....you good?" He slowly prompts.

"Yup." Sangoku replies, maybe a little too quick.

Kurumada narrows his eyes suspiciously at the response, irritated with the obvious lie. Sangoku can see that his friend is about to speak up again, and to be frank, he's not in the mood to play 20 questions that will only fuel his insecurities.

"Want to come over for diner? My mom's coming home late tonight." Sangoku offers him, knowing the promise of food always distracts Kurumada easily.

"Hell yeah!" Kurumada cheers loudly.

"What do you wanna eat?" Sam hopes it won't be anything too complicated, he still needs to go out for groceries.

"Burgers?" Kurumada asks hopefully.

Sangoku snickers, amused because he knows Kurumada goes absolutely _feral_ when Sam makes burgers.

"Burgers it is! Don't forget to let your parents know you're coming over." Sangoku adds, sounding way too much like a stern mother in Kurumada's ears.

"Yeah, yeah...... Don't go all mother hen on me." The black-haired teen whips out his cellphone, texting his dad.

He also sends a little text to Amagi.

Me: He's trying to distract me, man. I'm comin' over to his for burgers 

Bro-magi: Ok. Tell me if we need to beat someone up for him

Me: Got'cha

It's a few more minutes of random chit-chat before they get to the apartment. 

"We're here!" Sangoku announces, fishing for the key to get in. Kurumada watches him quietly.

"Don't forget to take off your shoes and be quiet when you walk past door number 6 because Miss Chia-" Sam is interrupted mid-sentence by a tug on the sleeve of his Raimon training jacket.

He turns around in confusion. Kurumada pulls him into a hug and smashes his head against Sam's chest. Sangoku hopes the shorter boy doesn't notice his heartbeat skyrocketing at the touch. He has to suppress a shiver as he wraps his arms around Kurumada in return.

Damn it. Why's he freaking out over a hug? This isn't the first time Kurumada gets affectionate out of nowhere. He does notice, however, that the hug isn't as tight as it usually is. Kurumada hugs like a bear, gentle hugs are rather difficult for him, despite how hard he tries. This time it's more soft, and the teen's arms are loose around his waist. 

"I'm _exhausted,_ man! The match was crazy......." Kurumada sighs against his bestie. Sangoku pets at the base of his skull, tugging at the greasy strands of hair. 

"We still won! Tenma's final save really got us out of the mess." Sam optimistically comments.

"Yeah?" Kurumada eyes him in that way he looks at people when he doesn't believe them. Sangoku's figured out by now that Kurumada is trying to get him to talk about something.

He won't cave. There's no reason for him to unnecessarily worry his friend over something stupid.

"C'mon, the burgers won't cook themselves!" Sam ushers the other boy inside, keeping an arm around his shoulder.

The burgers are fucking _heavenly._

"Watch your profanity!" Sangoku tells him off.

Fuck. He didn't mean to say that out loud. Kurumada rolls his eyes in preparation for what's about to come.

"1 dollar in the swear jar. You know the rules." Sam stares him down as Kurumada walks the walk of shame towards the glass jar at the end of the table. 

He puts the coin in it, throwing an extra few cents with it. There's times where both he and Amagi purposely swear just to shove money into the damn thing.

One, because it's funny to make Sangoku mad. And two, not all of Sam's mom's shifts cut the bill, so both of them figured it wouldn't hurt if they threw in a few extra bills. 

Not that that's any of _your_ business. Whatever.

"I appreciate the compliment, though." Sam smugly adds once Kurumada grumbles his way back into his chair.

"Just callin' it like I see it." Kurumada shrugs, devouring his burger in a less than flattering way. "How's your shoulder?"

"I'll live." Sangoku assures him. Kurumada doesn't miss the slight wince on Sam's face when he picks up the water bottle to re-fill his glass.

Kurumada eats the last of his food before wordlessly standing up and heading towards the fridge. Sam doesn't look up, Kurumada getting dessert without asking is nothing unusual. 

"You, me, your room. Now." Kurumada suddenly states, gesturing towards the door to Sam's bedroom.

Sangoku decides not to argue, because the angry little defender has that determined expression on his face that tells him he won't take no for an answer. He puffs out a sigh and mentally prepares himself for the nonsense Kurumada is about to tell him. He's probably planning on trying to convince Sangoku into joining in on something reckless. 

So he goes and waits for Kurumada to come in with crossed arms. What he doesn't expect is the ice-pack the other brings with him.

"What's that for?" Sangoku nods at the ice-pack.

"Take your shirt off."

Sam raises his eyebrows at the command, looking a little stunned. Kurumada realizes what he just said and feels his face grow red.

"D-don't get the wrong idea! I didn't mean like that!" He denies, the embarrassment only further reddening his cheeks.

"Alright, alright..... Just keep your voice down!" Sam scolds. The taller teen turns around, gripping the underside of his T-shirt and shrugging it off.

Sangoku waits impatiently, still unsure of where exactly Kurumada is going with this. What's the point of taking of his shi-

"Eep!" 

The yelp he lets out is not very manly, but he can't help it when something ice cold is suddenly pressed against one of the bruises on his back.

"O-oi, what're you-" Sam turns his head a little, peering down at where Kurumada is holding the ice-pack against his skin.

"If ya don't put somethin' cold against the fresh ones, you'll be sore in the morning. And Lord knows morning practice can be a real bitch." Kurumada adds gruffly.

"Watch your-"

"Language. Yeah, yeah, I know......"

Sangoku isn't quite sure if putting ice against bruises truly prevents soreness, but Kurumada's concern makes him smile a little. The silence between them should've been awkward, Sam doesn't doubt that if Minamisawa were here he would've commented something like _"This looks like the beginning of a bad porno."_

But it isn't. It's more comfortable than anything else, even with the ice pressed painfully against his bruises.

"What's with you, huh?" Kurumada speaks into the silence. Sangoku can practically hear the frown in his voice. 

"Nothing....." Sangoku claims.

"Doesn't seem like nothin'. Why'd you get all quiet after the match? Ya might've fooled the others but you sure ain't fooling Amagi 'n me......" Kurumada glares up at brown hair. Nothing is more frustrating to him than one of his friends being stubborn about their problems.

Sam doesn't say anything, only clenching a fist at the question. 

_Shit._ He hates keeping secrets from Kurumada. But he's not sure he's ready to share this one yet. He prefers to just not talk about the constant anxiety and the idea of getting replaced gnawing at him. 

"........" 

A few minutes of pure silence pass by. Sam can feel his heart beating in his ears. The boy behind him continues tending the bruises.

"Y'know we don't think any different of you, right?"

He holds his breath.

"Whether you're in the goal or on the bench. You're still just Sammy. Raimon's goalkeeper." 

Kurumada doesn't _actually_ know if those were the right words to say. But they feel right. He hopes Sam understands.

He half expects Sangoku to start sobbing or something, like in the movies where the chick breaks down and the guy is there to console her. But the brunette stays completely silent, not even wincing anymore when Kurumada presses the ice-pack into his shoulder.

Then, Sangoku unexpectedly turns. Kurumada thinks a scolding is about to come, maybe an irritated look.

But it's a hug. A tight, weirdly warm and comforting hug. One of those hugs only Sangoku and Amagi are able to give. Kurumada feels himself shiver, for no apparent reason. They stand like that for a long time, just holding each other in the dark. It's peaceful, in a way.

"Thank you......" Sam says to him at last, quiet and sincere.

Kurumada doesn't know why, but the words hold a certain kind of weight he can't place. 

He doesn't say anything in return, just squeezes Sangoku's body a little tighter.


End file.
